Film Reviews by AER

This is just about the best Irish film I've ever seen and one of the most moving portrayals about childhood. 10 out of 10.

If you would like to know what it feels like to be a non-speaking autistic person then this bright documentary will help you. It serves as a dynamic education for those that aren't all that aware of what it means to be neurodivergent. I learnt a lot, so for me it was a vital watch. Very interesting and gives the viewer valuable insights.

Chaotic, original and utterly mad, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is a triumph in big concept entertainment. In Hollywood where everything is based on an existing IP, I am so happy that a unique film with an utterly fresh storyline has made it to the big screen. Hollywood, give us some more action films like this!!!!

8 out of 10

Australian police procedural made for TV which lacks detail or consideration for police procedure. Thin characters with a lack of depth make unconvincing narrative choices and the whole thing comes across as trite and too basic to engage. Shame as the subject matter called for a more interesting take. Noah Taylor was good but had very little to work with.

For every one great Paul Schrader film like First Reformed, Light Sleeper, or Affliction there are three damp squibs like this and Dying of the Light. Woody Harrelson's character as a 'walker' for high-society women in Washington DC is intriguing but we never get a sense of who he is because the story envelopes him into a labyrinth and pretty boring plot about blackmail, investment skulduggery, murder, and secret affairs. At first, it's hard to follow but then as the film continues and the plot comes to light, you just realise it's all badly rendered and communicated. Never mind.

I was warned that this was a turkey but I like Tom Cruise and thought to myself, how bad can it be? And it it is woeful. Terrible script, illogical story and shonky SFX, this even made The Scorpion King look dope. Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella and Russell Crowe should also share the blame for delivering one of the very worst summer blockbusters I've seen since Josh Trank's Fantastic 4. It's no wonder Universal's Dark Universe series got canned with this as it's keystone release. At least the public voted with their feet and stayed at home. This really stank.

1 out of 10 - Bogus

This Australian film is high concept but strangely flat and more than a bit trite. Sadly, this tale of a dead man's family who believe his spirit lives on in a giant fig tree that overhangs their house is extraordinarily lifeless. The actors try their best but it's too slow, too formulaic, manipulative and corny to work. Most of all its there's a distinct distance created between the film and viewer and I experienced a lack of involvement and that's probably because we don't get to know the father who they are mourning. It's a shame, as this could have been much better had it paid attention to its script and pace.

3 out of 10

I thoroughly enjoyed this road movie starring newcomer Zack Gottsagen, Shia La Beouf and Dakota Johnson. A runaway from an old people's care home, Zak falls in with another runaway, Tyler who has fallen foul of local fishermen. Heading into the wilds of coastal North Carolina, they go in search of a wrestling school ran by a former star that Zak is obsessed with. In hot pursuit are the fishermen that Tyler crossed, and Zak's carer, Eleanor. The film is packed with event and is very warm, relatable, funny and convincing. The film only falters in the last five minutes when an event steals Zak's thunder and derails a potentially wonderful ending.

8 out of 10 - Very enjoyable and watchable. Gottsagen and La Boeuf are a great double act. Superb supporting cast too including Thomas Haden Church, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal, and wow Jake 'The Snake' Roberts....

Thank goodness it's not quite the Dad's Army / Richard Curtis-goes-to-war film that the trailer tried to sell us. However, as intriguing as this real-life story is it's still fairly standard, very dreary and in the end, not at all interesting. A solid cast go through the motions and fail to sell us the peril and high stakes of their plan. Some aspects felt forced like the presence of Ian Fleming (played by singer Johnny Flynn) and the references to James Bond. On the whole, you are left wondering what a film about the life of Glyndwr (the corpse) would have been like - but much of his involvement is played for fits and giggles in this. Ultimately, it was a little too broad and lacked grit or punch.

4 out of 10

I don't understand why this film has the terrible reputation it does. It's nowhere near as bad a some of the larger scale blockbusters / reboots etc that dominate the cinemas. It's taken me over 10 years to catch up with it and its not all that bad. It's not a masterpiece but it has a lot of originality and cool ideas to spare. True John Malkovich stinks as the baddie - he seems half-asleep, and the mind boggles as to how come there's a legion of great character actors filling out the ranks in thankless supporting roles (hello, Lance Reddick, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon, Aidan Quinn). This is like an inventive version of Wild Wild West, another blockbuster western that was deemed a turkey like this. Dodgy politics aside (Hex fought for the Confederates) this doesn't waste a minute of its trim 80 min Josh Brolin is committed as Jonah Hex and made a good impression and Megan Fox matched him in a very thin role. It was fun - didn't outstay its welcome and with expectations lower than a snake's bellybutton, this was very enjoyable.

5 out of 10 - Entertaining but stupid

Baddddddddd SFX withstanding, George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead is still a stone-cold horror classic. Wonderful set-pieces and zombies that just won't let go once they have a grip of you! I don't have to write much more because if you are here you are probably revisiting it because you loved it when you first saw it. Many zomibe films these days are filled with people who can despatch a zombie without thinking about it and they carry very little threat. However, as silly as they look with their grey faces, the zombies in this are still deadly and their uncanniness stays with you. Dawn of the Dead still has power - the remake is also one of the very best horror remakes of all time too, and it very near eclipses it if it wasn't for the sheer number of characters in the later one.

CLASSIC

Moving but ultimately maybe too slight to make a lasting impression on me. Time will tell. It reminded me of Bombon El Perro with it's minimalist style. Sad and interesting but like a long road trip, wearying.

Intriguing early Steven Soderbergh movie where he began to adopt his trademark editing tricks. This a clever little movie that presents a likeable lead who is ultimately a pretty despicable bloke. For a while, you're watching it wandering where the 'bad guy' is before you realise that it's our hero. Peter Gallagher returns home to Austin, TX for his mother's wedding and has to account for his past absence to his brother and his old girlfriend. He ran out on dangerous gambling debts and it would seem that his ways haven't changed. This has us on the hook until the aftermath of a doomed heist and then slips and slides to an unconvincing ending over the last 15 mins or so. It's a shame as this was 3/4 classic grift with delicious dialogue and interesting characters. It's a lost Soderbergh film that needs another look.

Keep an eye out for tiny cameos from Richard Linklater and Soderbergh himself.

7 out of 10

Rurangi is an insightful story about a transgender man who returns to his home town (of the title) ten years after he ran away. When Caz left he was a girl, and by a plot contrivance finds himself in his hometown after running his car off the road. Re=establishing bonds with old friends, his father and most interestingly, his school era boyfriend, this packs a lot of incident into it's short running time. So, ultlmately, the ending feels rushed and a leaves you wanting more - it begins to delve into some interest dynamics of character but shies away from getting too deep again and again. There is a lot here that is interesting though, and that's what I found frustrating, a good film about being trans in a small-town that offers up a lot of food for thought but ends up working merely as a gateway rather than something with a little bit more depth. Maybe now Rurangi has opened the door, there is room for another film to pick up where this one left off. It needed another 30 minutes to flesh out a few of the supporting characters.

Much to see, much to like, it just needed to be longer to give the whole cast room to grow and relationshop dynamics to be explored further. Instead a sub-plot about pesticides threatens to take centre stage at the last minute...

6 out of 10

William Hurt, Harold Perrineau jr, and Harvey Keitel have never been better than in this multi-stranded comedy drama that revolves around a cigar stall. The characters are engrossing and it's nice to see these great actors playing normal people. They really don't make 'em like this anymore. A real, quailty film full of engaging, funny, and believable characters... There is an improvised sequel - which isn't as good called Blue in the Face that proves lighting rarely strikes twice. Awesome work all round from Wayne Wang (director - where is he nowadays?) and author Paul Auster!

10 out of 10 - peerless in its class